Here’s a guided exercise for the reader who requires tangible proof for the stuff we publish: go to the J Street Pac website page that lists Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-NY). The page used to say: “Since his upset victory over veteran congressman Elliot Engel in the 2020 Democratic primary, Bowman is a leading progressive advocate.” Now it says, “Oops! That page can’t be found.”
Last Friday, J Street, the most vehemently anti-Zionist group this side of Neturei Karta, announced the withdrawal of its endorsement for Rep. Bowman. This decision was prompted by Bowman’s escalating and provocative language regarding the Gaza War, a stance even J Street acknowledged as crossing acceptable boundaries.
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami told The Forward, “When the rhetoric, the framing, and the approach go too far, that’s where we are going to hold our line. And that’s when we felt that Bowman crossed the line here.”
On January 14, Bowman introduced author Norman Finkelstein, known for his anti-Israel views, to a panel discussion in Westchester County on the Israel-Hamas war. Bowman admitted to being “a bit starstruck” as he had frequently watched Finkelstein on YouTube.
Finkelstein’s 2000 book, “The Holocaust Industry,” contended that Jews exploited the Nazi Holocaust to advocate for the establishment of the State of Israel. In 2007, he faced allegations of blatant antisemitism, leading to the denial of tenure at DePaul University—a decision supported heavily by Professor Alan Dershowitz. Following the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, Finkelstein commended the “heroic resistance in Gaza,” and drew parallels between Hamas and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
After he defeated pro-Israel Congressman Eliot Engel in 2020, J-Street played a significant role in advancing Bowman’s political career. In 2022, Ben Ami’s organization not only raised over $39,000 for Bowman but also provided an additional $100,000 through the J Street Action Fund.
There was also this:
Bowman’s pro-Hamas stance had consequences. Jewish-owned businesses in his district were defaced with the antisemitic graffiti, “Genocide supporter.”
BREAKING – New Rochelle police are now investigating hate-fueled vandalism at a local store selling women’s clothing. Let us know if you shop here. [email protected]@News12WC pic.twitter.com/sV1X6DmEa8
— Tara Rosenblum (@tararosenblum) January 25, 2024
The attacks followed Bowman’s accusations that Israel is engaged in genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip. As the Congressman put it ever so gently: “We have all read about genocides… I cannot believe I’m living through one, and the US government is condoning it and being complicit.”
Rep. Jamaal Bowman accuses Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the war against Hamas in Gaza.
“We have all read about genocides.. I cannot believe I’m living through one,” he added, “and the U.S. government is condoning it and being complicit.”pic.twitter.com/alBxv5P3dw
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) November 30, 2023
On November 1, 2023, we reported that George Latimer, the County Executive of Westchester County, was considering a run for NY’s 16th Congressional District seat in the Democratic primaries, challenging the incumbent Bowman.
On Monday, Latimer announced pulling close to $1.4 million for his challenge of Bowman on the Democratic ballot. Bowman has so far declared receiving $182 thousand as of last October.
According to the NY Post, a group of Westchester Republicans calling itself “Westchester Unites” is pushing independent voters and Jewish Republicans to register as Democrats and vote against the anti-Israel Bowman. The group’s website offers instructions on how Republicans and Independents can become Democrats for a day, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024.
AIPAC has already pledged its full support to Latimer, as well as to the challengers of three other Squad members: Cori Bush (D-MO), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Summer Lee (D-PA).
Let those “Benjamins” do some damage.
